Departures, or: Arrivals

Poetry Partners #128

Pat Schneider: ‘The Patience of Ordinary things’

‘Four Points of Departure (senryū inspired by excerpts from ‘The Patience of Ordinary Things’ by Pat Schneider)’, a poem by Stephanie Malley of ‘serendippitysays’

i. How the cup holds the tea

a test of patience
to spend all your days drinking
hot tea from cupped hands

ii. [S]oap dries quietly in the dish

soap so (meek and) mild
it won’t take offense if you
use the liquid kind

iii. [T]he lovely repetition of stairs

the eye registers
the repetition of stairs
breath slows step by step

iv. [W]hat is more generous than a window?

no argument here
as it’s abundantly clear
they welcome all views

• serendippitysays: https://serendippity.home.blog/

‘Three Points of Departure (shadorma inspired by excerpts from ‘The Patience of Ordinary Things’ by Pat Schneider)’, a poem by ben Alexander of ‘The Skeptic’s Kaddish’

i. [T]he chair stands sturdy and foursquare

seat cushions
long since unscrewed; wood
glue binds legs
to splitting
frames; nails scrape floor tiles; crumbled
chair glides lost to time

ii. [C]lothes wait respectfully in closets

okay, so,
maybe this old dress,
but the rest
simply must
go; toss everything into
those cardboard boxes

iii. [T]owels drink the wet from the skin of the back

double bath
bomb, steaming water;
cheek against
knees, trembling;
pervasive old-memories
smells all-consuming

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Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

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List of Poetry Partners